This new poinsettia cultivar `529` originated as an induced sport of a seedling poinsettia known as `F-23`. Cultivar `F-23` was deemed to have desirable traits for commercial greenhouse production. It had attractive dark, but bright red flower bracts and contrasting dark green foliage. Most notable was its stiff, upright stems, a desirable trait for commercial pot plant production. Also, `F-23` was relatively short, requiring little or no chemical growth retarding chemicals to achieve an acceptable commercial pot plant height. However, `F-23` is not a self-branching cultivar. Cultivar `529` was then created by imparting self-branching to `F-23` using the procedures set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,276. Cultivar `529` retains all of the desirable traits of `F-23` and is self-branching.
There are other poinsettia cultivars with dark red bracts and dark green foliage, notably cultivar `Lilo` U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,694), the cultivar `529` most closely resembles. Cultivars `F-23` and `529` differ from `Lilo` in several aspects. Cultivars `F-23` and `529` flower approximately 5 days earlier than `Lilo`. They are shorter and have more rigid stems than `Lilo`. Cultivar `529` branches more freely than `Lilo`. The bract color, while similar to `Lilo` is brighter with less bluish tones. Cultivar `529` is prone to premature flower initiation ("splitting") than `Lilo`. In post-production environments `529`, unlike `Lilo`, exhibits little or no bract edge burn, making it a longer-lasting cultivar with greater value for the consumer.
After cultivar `529` was induced, clones were produced by stem cuttings for further testing and evaluation. Successive generations of vegetative propagation demonstrated the distinctive characteristics of `529` hold true from generation to generation.